The MNT reports that India's Trade Minister, Anand Sharma, believes the India-EU dispute over generic drug seizures will be settled without litigation - despite the fact that Brazil and India filed a legal challenge over seizures in May with the World Trade Organization.
India remains firm in its commitment to manufacture and export generic drugs to poor and developing nations. It will not consider terms in any EU trade pact that would limit access to these life-saving medications in these countries. Clearly, India is positioning itself versus the Multi-national drug companies and sees itself as a champion for the little guy.
"It is very clear that the generics ensured availability at affordable prices of these medicines to poor patients in poor countries is breaking the suffocating stranglehold of the multinational companies," Sharma said.
A spokesman for the EU stated the EU is fully committed to ensuring access of affordable medicines to the developing world and that nothing in the proposed trade agreement would limit India's ability to produce and export medicines in acordance with the TRIPs agreement.
Posted by Bruce Lehr October 26th 2010.
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